Apparatus for attaching price tags



April 1950 G. CUNNINGHAM ETAL 2,503,903

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING PRICE mes Filed May 12, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l i 243 EN I! Hi In! 1H HI: m 1 H! H! w: I

INVENTORS 3W mmww ATTORN EYS April 11, 1950 G. CUNNINGHAM ETAL APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING PRICE TAGS Filed May 12, 1945 4 Sheets-$heet 2 ATTORNEYS April 1950 G. CUNNINGHAM ETAL 2,503,903

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING PRICE was 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 12, 1945 INYENTORS 'ATTORNEYS April 1\950 G. CUNNINGHAM ETAL 3 03 APPARATUS FOR ATTACH INC PRICE TAGS Filed May 12, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 11', 1950 APPARATUS FOR ATTACHIN G PRICE TAGS Gordon Cunningham, East Rutherford, N. J and James E. Woods, Atlanta, Ga., assignors to A. Kimball Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 12, 1945, Serial No. 593,514

11 Claims. 112-104) This invention relates to apparatus for pinning price tags to merchandise.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved machine for inserting pins through tags and merchandise, and it is a more particular object of the invention to provide a machine that operates with a continuous strand of pin stock, such as wire or plastic monofil, the end portion of which is inserted through the tag and merchandise and then cut-off to leave a pin of the desired length. The apparatus preferably cuts the stock with a square end, that is, at right angles to the strand, so as to leave a blunt end.

In order to insert blunt ended pin stock through the merchandise without risk of tearing or damaging the merchandise during the process of insertion, this invention provides a hollow needle in which the pin stock is housed, and the needle is provided with a sharper point that pierces the merchandise without damage. The invention includes automatic mechanism for holding the pin stock against rearward movement while the needle is drawn back leaving the pin stock in place for attaching the tag.

One feature of the invention relates to means for arching or bowing the tag so that a needle advanced along a straight line can intersect the tag and merchandise at two points along the length of the bowed tag. The effect can be obtained by providing the attaching machine with spaced supports or a concave circuiting surface that rests on the merchandise while the tag is held against the merchandise by guide surfaces that how the tag.

As soon as the tag is pinned to one item of merchandise, the tag attaching machine is lifted from that item and placed on top of the next one. The tags can be fed into position by mechanical feeding apparatus, or they may be put in position manually. This invention is concerned primarily with the pinning of the tags.

The invention will be described, therefore without automatic mechanism for feeding tags into position for cooperation with the pinning mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manually-operated tag-attaching machine in which a hollow needle enclosin pin stock is advanced with the stock through a tag and merchandise, is then withdrawn leaving an end portion of the pin stock in place of the needle, and

the exposed pin stock is then cut-off, all in response to a single operation of a manually-actuated handle.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the specification proceeds.

'In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views, Y

Figure 1 is a top plan view of tag attaching apparatus embodying this invention. 1

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line of 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figures 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the structure shown in Figure 1' and illustrating the way in which a. tag is pinned to merchandise by this invention.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 5-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 1-! of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a sectional view through a tag after the needle for inserting the fastening element has been removed.

The apparatus shown in Figure 1 includes a frame In with a handle II at one endfor placing the apparatus in position on merchandise to which a tag is to be connected, and for lifting the apparatus off the merchandise after the tag 'has been attached. The handle ll includes an upper rigid portion l2 (Figure 4) and a lower grip portion I3 that is connected with the frame by a pivot I4.

- A link I6 is connected at its upper end to the rigid portion I 2 by a pivot H. The lower end of the link It is connected by a pivot Hi to a connecting rod 20 made up of two sections, one of which is threaded into the other and held in any desired adjusted position by a lock nut 2|. This construction makes the connecting rod 20 adjustable in length.

The link I6 is confined laterally by lugs 23 that extend up from the grip portion l3, and there is a bolt 25 extending between the lugs 23 and through a slot 26 in the link It. The upper end of the connecting rod 20 connects with a crankpin 28 of a crank 29 connected to a shaft 30. Referring again to Figure 1, the shaft 30 has its opposite ends supported in bearing blocks 3| attached to opposite sides of the frame Hi. There are collars 33 on the shaft 30. for preventing endwise displacement of the shaft.

An operator places his hand on the top of the rigid portion l2 (Figure 4) and puts his fingers squeeze the grip portion l3 upward toward the fixed portion i2 of the handle. An abutment 85, extending from the upper side of the link 18, strikes against the fixed portion l2 to limit the movement of the grip portion l3 toward the upper fixed portion I2 of the handle.

Upward movement of the grip portion 18 shifts the connecting rod 28 and moves the crank 28 into the dotted line position indicated in Figure 4. This movement rotates the shaft 80 through an angle of somewhat less than 90 degrees in the construction illustrated in the drawing. At one end of the shaft 88 there is a crank arm 81 (Figure 1) which is pinned or otherwise secured to the shaft. This-crank arm 81 is connected by a link 38 with one end of a bell crank 48 which is angularly movable about a screw 4|. This screw extends up from an extension 42 that forms a rigid part of the frame Ill. The bell crank 48 is urged into a retracted position by a spring 44 tensioned between a pin 45 on the bell crank and an anchor 45 on the frame extension 42.

When the crank arm 31. is operated to pull the link 88, the bell crank 48 is rocked in a counterclockwise direction about the screw 41. A roller 58 on a stud extends up into a slot 52 in the bell crank 40. The stud 5i is rigidly connected with a slide 54 that moves in guides in the extension 42 of the frame. counterclockwise movement of the bell crank 40 around the screw 4| causes the roller 50 and stud 5! to be shifted to the left in Figure l and moves the slide 54 in its guide 55, best shown in Figure: 3.

The under side of the slide 54 is shown in Figure 2. At the forward end of the slide there is a socket 56 in which is held a hypodermic needle 51 by means of a set screw 58. A wire or thread 58 is led across the bottom of the slide 54 and into the hypodermic needle 51. The slide 54 includes a clutch for causing the wire or thread 80 to move to the right with the needle after the slide 54 has advanced a short distance but the clutch is so constructed that it releases automatically when the slide 54 retracts, that is, moves toward the left in Figure 2.

This wire clutch includes an anvil 82 and a pawl 88 which rotates about a pin 54 to jam the wire 88 against the anvil 82. A light coil spring 55 urges the pawl 63 toward the anvil, but this spring 85 is not strong enough to cause excessive friction of the pawl 63 against the wire during the rearward stroke of the slide 54. This clutch for gripping the wire or pin stock requires some movement of the slide 54 before gripping the wire. This movement is suflicient to move the needle over the exposed end of the wire that was left extending beyond the point of the needle after the previous cutting of the wire.

In order to limit retrograde or rearward movement of the wire or thread 80, there is another clutch connected with the underside of the frame extension 42. This clutch includesa fixed anvil 88 and a pawl 81 that moves about a pin 88' to jam the wire 88 against the anvil 68 whenever the wire begins to move rearwardly, that is, toward the left in Figure 2. A light spring 89 urges the pawl 51 against the wire 58. The needle has some forward and some rearward movement before the clutch pawls 63 and 81 move far enough to stop movement of the wire 68 with the needle.

The wire or thread 58 is supplied from a spool 1| supported on an axle 12 (Figure 1) extending between spaced supports 15 on top of the frame extension 42.

The price tags may be carried in a magazine mounted on the frame l0, or the apparatus can be used for attaching tags that are individually placed in position on the merchandise to which they are to be connected. The apparatus illustrated in the drawing has a magazine comprising two bars 15 supported by blocks 18 at their forward ends. The rearward ends of the bars 18 rest on the frame 18. A supporting screw 18 threads through the blocks 18 and has end portions of circular section that rotate in bearings 19 attached to the frame Hi. There is a slot 88 'in the more accessible end of the supporting screw 18 for turning this screw 18 to adjust the distance between the bars 18. One of the blocks 18 contains right-hand threads and the other lefthand threads so that these blocks move closer together or further apart when the screw 18 is rotated in one direction or the other. The purpose of this adjustment is to change the width of the magazine to accommodate tags of different size.

There are angles 82 extending upward from each of the bars 15 immediately behind the blocks 16, and these angles form the corner for the forward end of the magazine.

There are other angles 88 extending upward from clamps 84 that are slidable along slots 85 in the bars 15. Each of these clamps 84 has a screw 88 (Figure 2) for holding it in adjusted position along the length of the bar 15 to which it is attached by the screw 88. The angles 88 form the rearward corners. of the tag magazine. and their adjustment lengthwise of the bars 15 permits adjustment of the magazine to accommodate tags of different length.

The bars 15 are spaced to provide access to the bottom tag of a stack of tags located in the magazine, and the front wall of each of the angles 82 terminates a little above the surface of the bar 15 on which the bottom of the stack of tags rests so as to leave a slot 81 (Figure 4) wide enough for the bottom tag of the stack to pass through so that it can be fed forward to advance its end beyond the front of the magazine and into position for cooperation with the needle. The tag may be fed forward by any suitable automatic feeding mechanism or by manual manipulation by the operator of the apparatus.

The forward portions of the bars 15 carry guides for bending the bottom tag as it is moved out from the magazine. These guides have curved bottoms 88 (Figures 5, 6 and '1) that not only bend the tag 88 to a bowed shape, but also comprise the section of the apparatus by which it is supported when rested on merchandise to which a tag is to be attached. The curved surfaces 88 press down the merchandise 98 at both sides of the tag so that there is an arched-up portion of the merchandise directly under the tag in position to be intersected by the needle 51. The guides for the tag have flared entrances 92 for guiding the front end of the tag into the guides.

The tag 89 may be pierced by the needle but preferably has prepunched holes 94 through which the needle 51 passes. The use of prepunched holes has the important advantages that the same hollow needle can be used over and over again without having its point dulled. The needle pierces the cloth merchandise 8!! easily, but the point is worn rather rapidly if it is required to also pierce tags constructed of stifl paper board.

or thread 60 through both of the openings 94 in the tag 89, and through the merchandise 90 at two spaced locations adjacent the openings 94. As the needle 51 moves back toward the left the wire 60 travels with it until the end of the wire is back from the side edge of the tag 09 and by this time the retrograde movement of the wire 90 is sufficient to cause the clutch pawl 51 to Jam and prevent further rearward movement of the wire. The needle continues to move leaving the wire in the tag with end in the position shown in Figure 8. I

As the slide which supports the needle 51 travels to the limit of its rearward movement, the pointed end of the needle 51 moves back somewhat beyond a face plate 06, shown in dotted lines in Figure 7, and through which the wire and needle pass, and a shear blade 91 that operates across the opening in the face plate ill; to shear the wire at a point slightly inward from the side edge of the tag. Thus both ends of the wire fastening or pin which holds the tag 89 to the merchandise 90 are within the area of the tag, and therefore less likely to catch on other merchandise when the tagged articles are being handled. Figure 8 shows the tag 89 attached-to the merchandise 90 after the wire has been sheared off and the tag has been drawn out of the guides. The resilience of the tag moves it as far back as possible toward a flat condition.

The resilience of the tag tends to flatten it out as soon as it is removed from the influence of the side guides, but the wire or pin fastening prevents the tag from flattening completely. The

tendency of the tag to flatten, however, sets up suificient friction between the tag and the sides of the wire fastening to hold the fastening in place even though the fastening passes through large holes in the tag.

The positions of the face plate 96 and shear blade 91 with respect to the rest of the mechani m is shown in Figure 2. The face plate 96 supports a guide 99 through which the needle 51 passes. This guide 99 is long enough so that the point of the needle remains in the guide when the needle is at the rearward end of its stroke.

The face plate 96 extends downward from a bracket I that is connected to the frame by screws IOI (Figure 1) extending through slots I02 in the bracket I00, or withother provision that permits adjustment of the bracket I00 in the direction of movement of the needle. The purpose of this adjustment is to regulate the point at which the wire is sheared for tags of different width.

The shear blade 91 is supported by a pivot I03 connected to the face plate 96. A coil spring I04 urges the shear blade back against a stop I05, best shown in Figure 4. This stop is at-.

- the plunger IIO operates the shear blade.

8 blade 01 is rocked in a counterclockwise direction and operates to shear the wire.

The stud I I2 moves along an arcuate path as The shoulder III moves along a straight line, and after the shear blade 91 has rocked some distance beyond the position at which it cuts the wire, the stud II2 moves downward across the face of the shoulder III and beyond the lower end of the shoulder so that the shear blade 91 is released from the plunger 0 and is free to move back to its starting position against the stop I05.

The bearings for the plunger H0 in the exten-' sions II1 are somewhat larger than the diameter of the plunger IIO. This gives the plunger a' limited vertical movement. A spring II8 urges the right-hand end of the plunger downward so shear blade 91 about its pivot I03 causes the shearing surface 101 to shear the wire at the end of the opening I 09.

The shear-operating mechanism includes a plunger H0 which has a shoulder III in position to contact with a stud II2 that extends from one side of the shear blade 91. When the shoulder III is up against the stud H2, and the plunger IIO moves toward the left in Figure 4, the shear that the shoulder III will engage behind the stud II2 when the plunger is retracted. The plunger extends some distance beyond the shoulder III so that even in its most retracted position, the end of the plunger cannot drop below the stud I I2.

Near its rearward end the plunger 0- has a notch I20 in its upper, surface, and there is a plate I2I just behind the extension 1 with an edge that provides a shoulder behind which the notch I20 latches when the plunger H0 is pulled rearwardly against the force of the compression spring H4. This spring H4 is confined between the rearward extension II 1 and a collar I22 that is secured to the plunger I I0 by a setscrew. A loose sleeve I25 surrounds the portion of the plunger just ahead of the rearward extension II1 to prevent the notch I20 from catching in the convolutions of the spring II4 when the plunger I I0 moves forward.

-The structure for pulling the plunger IIO rearwardly includes a link I23 that is connected to the rearward end of the plunger II 0 by a pivot I24.

This link I23 is connected with a crank arm I20 by a pin I21 which extendsthrougha slot I28 in the link I23. The purpose of this slot is to permit the pin I21 to move forward, that is, toward the plunger IIO, while the plunger remains in its retracted position with the I20 engaging the edge of the plate I2 I.

The crank arm I20 is pinned, or otherwise rigidly connected to the shaft 30, and extends above the shaft 30 for the purpose of operating a .link I30 which controls the release ,of the plunger IIO. This control is effected through a bell crank I3I that rocks about a pivot I32 attached to the frame of the apparatus. There is a release element I34 located immediately above the plunger H0 and supported in a yoke I35 in which it has limited sliding movement. This release element I34 is urged upward by a spring I31 compressed between the lower branch of the yoke I35 and a pin extending from the side of the release element.

A stud I39 on one side of the bell crank I3I depresses the release element 'I34 when the bell crank I3I is rocked in a clockwise direction beyond a given limit. The parts are so proportioned that as the needle-operatin slide approaches the rearward end of its stroke, the shaft 30 will turn into a position that causesthe crank arm I26 to pull the link I30 far enough to cause the stud I39 to depress the release elementI 34 and push the rearward end of the plunger IIO down farenough notch 7 to disengage the notch in from the edge of the plate III. ,When the notch I20 is thus released. the plunger HI is thrust forward quickly by the energy in the compressed spring I it and operates the shear plate '1 to cut-oil the wire.

The link III is not connected to the crank arm II, but merely extends around behind the crank arm, as shown clearly in Figure 1. A supporting bracket 2 is attached to the frame II by a screw ill and provides a bearing for the rearward end of the link I". The forward end of the link I30 ls bent inward and extends through the upper end of the bell crank "I to provide a pivot connection I between the link I30 and bell crank III.

Although the invention has been described with wire for attaching the tags to merchandise, other material can be used, such as plastic monoiil, preferably nylon. The only requirement for the wire or other stock that is to be sheared off to form a pin for holding the tag on the merchandise is that the stock be sumciently still for the purpose. and that it be a material which can be sheared to leave a substantially clean-cut end.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, but various modifications can be made and some features can be used without others without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A tag-attaching machine comprising a frame that is adapted to rest on the merchandise to which a tag is to be attached, surfaces shaped to bow a tag and hold it against the merchandise on which the frame is resting, a magazine on the frame for holding a stack of tags, a slot located at one side of the bottom of the magazine and through which the bottom tag in the magazine can be pushed out into position to be held against the merchandise by said surfaces, a hollow needle movable back and forth along a line that intersects the bowed tag and underlying merchandisc at two points along the length of the bow, a clutch for advancing a length of pin stock as the needle advances and with the end portion of the stock enclosed within the needle, brake means for holding the pin stock in its advanced position during return movement of the needle, a cutter for severing the exposed end of the stock after the needle has withdrawn from the tag, and mechanism for operating the cutter and needle in timed relation with one another.

2. A hand-operated device for attaching tags to merchandise, said device including a frame adapted to rest on the merchandise to which the tag is to be attached, surfaces shaped to hold a tag against the merchandise with the tag in a bowed condition, a hollow needle movable back and forth along a line that intersects the bowed tag and underlying merchandise at two points along the length of the bow, means for advancing pin stock within the needle as the needle advances and for preventing return movement of the pin stock as the needle withdraws from the ta a cutter for severing the exposed and of the pin stock after the needle has withdrawn, and a common handle for operating the needle-moving apparatus and cutter in a predetermined sequenoe.

3. Apparatus for attaching tags to merchandise, said apparatus comprising a hollow pointed needle, operating mechanism for thrusting the needle through a tag and underlying merchandise at two spaced points across the width of the tag, an inlet through which a fastener is inserted into the hollow needle. apparatus for advancing 8 the fastener with the needle and with the forward end of the fastener within the needle, and a device in position to operate upon a rearward portion of the fastener for holding the fastener in the position occupied by the needle as the needle is withdrawn from the tag.

4. Tag-attaching apparatus including a hollow tube for insertion forwardly through two spaced locations of a tag and through underlying merchandise, an opening at the rearward end of the tube for insertion of an attaching element, an opening in the forward end of the tube for the discharge of the attaching element from the tube, and means behind the rearward end of the tube for thrusting the attaching element from the forward end of the tube during rearward movement of the tube.

5. Tag-attaching apparatus comprising means for holding a tag in a bowed position and in contact with merchandise to which it is to be attached, a hollow pointed needle, feeding apparatus for thrusting the needle, with pin stock enclosed within the needle and back from the point of the needle, through the tag and merchandise at two spaced regions across the bowed width of the tag, and means for retaining the pin stock in a position extending through the tag and merchandise as the'needle is withdrawn.

6. Apparatus for attaching tags to merchandise, said apparatus comprising a hollow needle, operating mechanism for thrusting the needle through a tag and underlying merchandise at two spaced points across the width of the tag, an inlet through which the end portion of a coil of pin stock is fed into the needle, means in position to grip a portion of the pin stock, that has not yet entered said inlet, for retaining the pin stock in a position extending through the tag and merchandise as the needle is withdrawn, and cut-ofl means for severing the portion of the stock that extends from the needle.

'7. Apparatus for pinning tags to merchandise, said apparatus comprising a hollow pointed needle that pierces the tag and underlying merchandisc at two spaced regions across the width of the tag, feed means for thrusting the needle through the tag and merchandise, a clutch for advancing pin stock as a unit with the needle, and with the end portion of said stock located within the forward end of the needle, brake means rearward of the needle for preventing retrograde movement of the pin stock as the needle is withdrawn from the tag and merchandise, and mechanism for cutting ofi the end of the stock left by the needle to form a pin for retaining the tag on the merchandise.

8. Tag-attaching apparatus including a hollow pointed needle that pierces a tag and underlying merchandise at spaced points across the tag, said needle having an opening at its rearward end for insertion of an end portion of a length of pin stock into the needle, means for advancing the needle point beyond the end of the pin stock, and automatic clutch means effective after the point of the need e has advanced beyond the end of the pin stock for advancing the pin stock as a unit with the needle.

9. A tag-attaching machine including feed means for advancing a hollow pointed needle through a tag and underlying merchandise and with an end portion of pin stock enclosed within the needle, brake means for stopping reverse" movement, of the pin stock during withdrawal of the needle from the tag and merchandise, a cutter for severing the end portion of the stock that is left by the needle when said needle is withdrawn, and a clutch for advancing the stock with the next advance of the needle, said clutch and needle feed means being so correlated that the point of the needle travels beyond the exposed end left by the previous cutting operation before the needle and pin stock have advanced to the region where they pass through the tag.

10. Tag-attaching apparatus including a holder movable for advancing and retracting a hollow needle in which is enclosed a length of pin stock, brake means rearward of the needle holder for checking return movement of the pin stock during the retracting movement of the needle, 8. cutter for severing the end of the stockexposed by the retraction of the needle, and mechanism for operating the needle holder and cutter in timed relation including a common actuator for supplying power to both the needle holder and cutter.

11. Tag-attaching apparatus including a needle support movable to advance and retract a hollow needle in which is enclosed a length of pin stock, brake means rearward of the needle support for checking return movement 01. the pin stock during the retracting movement of the needle, a cutter for severing the end of the stock exposed by the retraction of the needle, 1:. spring for actuating the cutter, a latch for releasing the cutter at a predetermined time in the cycle of operation of the needle support, and common operating mechanism for advancing and retracting the needle support and for setting the spring.

GORDON CUNNINGHAM. JAMES E. WOODS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 238,198 Wardwell Feb. 22, 1881 674,369 Fiiller May 21, 1901 1,660,832 Conti Feb. 28, 1928 1,954,287 Flood Apr. 10, 1934 

